Chess
by Namine's angel
Summary: Knives had never lost a game of chess before. At least, before he met Milly, he had never lost a game.


Knives had never lost a game of chess before. Sure, Vash had come close to beating him every now and then, and Rem had always tried to outsmart him, but while she was savvier with the general rules of chess, he was much better at strategy than she was. The entire human population couldn't outsmart him when it came to strategy. Only Vash could ever surprise him, and Vash, just like him, wasn't a human. They were both supreme beings, capable of swatting the entire human race like insects. He was just more willing than Vash was, and, at the moment, a lot more incapacitated than his brother.

When he had finally woken up in the house that Vash, Milly, and Meryl were staying in, he loathed the fact that he had lost and that humans-the terrifying, untrustworthy, destructive creatures-were being trusted to take care of him. Sure, Vash came in to see him and had told him that he was going to prove that humans weren't the awful creatures he and his gang thought they were, but the ones that mainly tended to him were Meryl and Milly. Knives didn't see how Vash could prove something so childish and stupid, but even though he wanted to, he couldn't escape from his bed. Vash hadn't killed him, but he had shot him in the right places to incapacitate him, so even though he longed to, he couldn't bite Meryl as she helped him eat his dinner, and he couldn't get up from his bed, slit the girls throats, and start killing all of the other worthless humans that still existed. All he could do was lie in bed, ignore the girls, and think about things, which didn't accomplish anything. It only made him even more irritated.

Which was when Vash suggested that Milly play a game or two of chess with him. She was more than a little hesitant, since he was Legato's master, the man who was responsible for the death of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, but since Knives was incapacitated, and since they were trying to prove that humanity wasn't terrible or untrustworthy, she went along with it, and while Knives didn't engage her in conversation-though Milly cheerfully tried to get him to talk on a variety of topics, like how he was feeling, what his favorite food was, what exactly were his hobbies-he played along, since he was terribly bored. Almost anything was better than lying down and trying to swim in the boiling sea that was his mind.

While playing chess was a little awkward, since Knives couldn't really move without his wounds bothering him, the two managed to play, since Milly put the board on a table right next to the bed and then pulled up a chair. With that setup, Knives only needed one hand to move his pieces from the bed, and if they ever got too far, he simply had to tell Milly where he wanted them when it was his turn-which were the only times in the first match that he spoke to her.

At least, until Milly slowly wore down his defenses and beat him. That caused him to cry out in surprise. "What?! How did you, with your empty, ditzy little head beat me?!"

"Oh, well that's very simple, Mr. Knives! You haven't been paying any attention to your pawns, and they're the foundation that makes up a good defense! If you start thinking they're useless, you'll start losing. But, if you want, we can play again."

"Of course I want to play again. There's no way an ignorant human like you could really best me in chess. I'm sure it's simply because I'm rusty..or you got lucky."

And so, they cleaned up the board and played again. And again, and again, and again, and again, until, by the end of the day, when Meryl had finished cooking supper with Vash, Knives had lost six times and Milly had only lost twice. Knives didn't know whether he was impressed or furious, but he did know that he wanted to find out just how Milly had managed to become so smart and that he wanted to beat her to a bloody pulp for besting him. When Meryl and Vash walked in with dinner, which was a big bowl of beef and vegetable soup that smelled delicious, Milly quickly cleaned up the game they were in, smiled at him, and at the two that had just walked into the room.

"Well, it looks like I win today, Mr. Knives! Would you like to play tomorrow? You might be able to beat me then!"

"Of course I'll be able to beat you. Destructive little urchins like you might win the battle, but I'll win in the long run. Come by tomorrow if you want to see that I'm right." While Vash kept on smiling as Knives spoke, he gave his brother a look, silently telling him to cool it. It was only on his face for a moment, but while Meryl didn't notice it, Milly did, and while she kept on smiling, it looked a little more strained.

"Alright then..I'll see you tomorrow!" Quietly, she nervously chuckled to herself as she walked out of the room, leaving Vash and Meryl, who put down the bowl of soup she was carrying on the table before pulling a spoon out of her pocket and setting that down next to the bowl.

"Alright, would you like me to feed you, or would you like Vash to help you?"

"Leave. He's a pathetic wimp, but I'll always take him over you."

"Very well then. Vash, you deal with him." Normally, Meryl wouldn't have been quite so curt, but she was having a tough time dealing with Knives. While she understood what Vash was trying to do and wanted him to succeed, it was hard trying to be friendly with a person who almost never spoke with you and belittled you, along with the rest of the human race, whenever he did open his mouth. Vash, of course, understood that his brother could be more than a little pain in the neck, and while he wanted everyone to try and get along, he was more than happy to take over whenever Meryl needed a break from the human-hating Plant. So, as Meryl quietly walked out of the room, Vash happily replied.

"Don't worry! I'll take care of him!" When she was gone, Vash closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair Milly had left before putting the first spoonful of soup in front of his brother's face. "So, you finally lost at chess. I didn't think you would ever lose." Before replying, Knives quickly ate the bit of soup that Vash put in front of him. While Knives would never admit it, it was delicious, but he was more interested in the conversation than the meal. At least, for the moment.

"It was just a fluke. I'll be able to beat that little cretin tomorrow. A superior being shouldn't lose against a human." As Knives spoke, Vash put another bit of soup in front of him, and as he ate, he spoke, a gentle smile on his face.

"Maybe..but you know, Milly's a lot smarter than you might think. Maybe you should ask her how she plays if you want to beat her. You could learn a little bit more about chess that way too!" At that, Knives glared at Vash, half-insulted that he thought that stupid, ditzy, clumsy human could teach him anything.

"It's not just your heart that's gotten soft, Vash. If you think that girl has anything to teach me, your intellect really has dulled. Like I said, it's just a fluke. She'll see who the actual champion of chess is tomorrow." As he fed his brother, Vash sighed, and his smile became more awkward and tired.

"Well..we'll see, but you've got nothing to lose by talking to her, you know!"

"I have nothing to gain either, Vash." Vash sighed again, but, for the rest of the meal, they were both quiet, and Knives quietly fumed to himself as his brother fed him and left for the evening. How dare he think that an insignificant, lesser being could have something to teach him?! The only reason he had lost so many times was because his skills were a little rusty, since he had been recuperating from his injuries for so long. It wasn't because that girl was smarter or that she had something to teach him. She had merely won because he hadn't been able to practice for awhile! Even the best weapon wouldn't be able to perform well if it was allowed to rust and deteriorate! Yes, that was the reason.

He would show them all tomorrow that Milly wasn't superior to him in anything. Not even chess.


End file.
